Courts

La Crosse man wanted on attempted murder charge is caught in Florida

Published

6 months ago

October 30, 2023

Brad Williams

A La Crosse County mug shot of Freeman Cole, who was accused of attempted murder from an Oct. 3, 2023, incident.

Four weeks after an attempted murder in La Crosse, city police informed the public Monday that a suspect was caught.

Freeman Cole is accused of strangling and punching a female acquaintance, after pulling her inside a storage unit on Fiesta Court in La Crosse back on Oct. 3.

La Crosse police said Monday in a news release that he was arrested over the weekend in Osceola County, Fla. The 43-year-old Cole is wanted in La Crosse on six charges, including the attempted murder.

When the woman screamed for help from inside the storage unit, two witnesses opened the unit and saw Cole attacking her.

Cole ran. Witnesses called 911. The La Crosse District Attorney’s office is accusing Cole of 1st-degree attempted homicide, strangulation and false imprisonment.

Cole remains in custody. It is not known when he will be brought back to Wisconsin.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.